Welcome to the University of Maryland's​TeenParent/Young Child READ 2 ME (R2M)Speech-Language Therapy & Emergent Literacy​Research Program

The Hearing and Speech Clinic's (HESP) R2M programwill be implementing a teen parent-young child emergent literacy program held within local high schools near the University of Maryland (UMD). Speech-language pathologists (SLP), who are UMD clinical faculty in HESP with over 35 years experience collectively, will be working alongside Master’s SLP graduate and undergraduate students to conduct this R2M program.

ProgramHESP's Read 2 Me (R2M) program is a teen parent/young child speech and language therapy and enrichment research program that meets for 12 sessions for 90-minutes each. Caregivers and their young children will participate in activities planned around the book of the day. Each of the ten (10) R2M days, teen parents will participate in a 45-minute interactive book-reading and speech-language enrichment training. Their toddlers and preschoolers will concurrently participate in R2M's theme-based, speech-language enrichment activities in another room. In the final 45-minutes of each day caregivers will participate with their child in a variety of multi-sensory learning and play stations that complement the language concepts and parent training lessons. These lessons will be centered around the book of the day to include a closing circle time summarizing what was addressed that day.

Teen parents will be invited to a password protected webpage to see follow-up R2M activities and related books they can read to their child at home.

NOTE: Two additional sessions for pre- and post- speech-language/literacy measures and video-taping of parent-child reading activities will be completed on the teen parents and their young children during this program. A written summary of the results of the initial speech-language measures will be provided to the parents.

EnrollmentA pre-screening process will be conducted in order for the teen parent and their child to qualify for this R2M program.

PaymentTuition for teen parents and their young children enrolled in the R2M program is anticipated to be covered by grant funding. Services include:

Speech-Language/literacy pre-post measures for both teen parent and child to include report

Ten (10) 45-minute evidence-based, language and early literacy enrichment classes for young children

HESP R2M childrentransition to the circle time area___________________________________

Welcome song Read theme book​Each child has a theme item that goes with the bookBook theme-related activities______________________________Caregivers go to a separate room for interactive book-reading/emergent literacy and speech-language enrichment training and ways to expand book activities_______________________________

Parents and children transition to the same room. Multi-sensory, book-of-the-week, theme-based stations are set-up around the room. HESPR2M SLP MA graduate and undergraduate students facilitate and reinforce language and emergent literacy activities at these stations e.g., movement, art, dramatic play and other play-based extensions of the book.

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Closing group circle activity with caregivers.Closing circle with reviewGoodbye song ​_______________________________

Book of the week stations are planned that include engaging role-play, art, music and movement activities.